The Oyu Tolgoi joint venture, in which Rio Tinto owns 34%, has signed a US$4.4 billion project financing agreement to develop the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold underground mine, in Mongolia.
The mine has been producing copper concentrates (with gold included) since 2013 from an open pit, which was developed at a cost of US$6.4 billion.
All funding and work on the development of the underground mine was delayed in July 2013 but the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan, agreed in May 2015, resolved key outstanding shareholder issues and set out an agreed basis for the funding of the project.
Initial Senior Loans will total US$4.4 billion and will consist of facilities provided and funded by Export Development Canada, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation of Australia, as well as a consortium of 15 commercial lenders.
Rio Tinto and all Oyu Tolgoi shareholders will now continue to work towards updating the feasibility study, including the revised capital estimates, and securing all necessary permits for the development of the underground mine.
Rio gets funding for Oyu Tolgoi underground copper mine, in Mongolia: RIO